Like A River Flows Surely to the Sea
by Vickysg1
Summary: Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? Sequel to Only Fools Rush In.


Like a river flows surely to the sea

Author: Vicky

E-Mail: 

WebSite: .

Category: romance

Summary: Shall I stay? Would it be a sin?

Season/Sequel: season 3, post finale

Spoilers: _Only fools rush in_

Rating: PG

Archives: my website, others ask please, I never refuse

Disclaimer: I own neither the show nor the characters. I don't earn any money; I just do it for fun.

Author's Note: This is a sequel to my fic _Only fools rush in_. The title and the summary are also from _Can't help falling in love_.

You have a go !

She yawned as she stepped into the kitchen. She didn't get nearly enough sleep, but she wouldn't have had it another way.

Over dinner, she and Cal had talked about the kisses they shared, and what it meant for them; what changes it would bring to their relationship. In the end he left the choice up to her, willing to do whatever she told him to. She refused it at first, thinking that it was a decision they should make together, but one look at his face told her that he had already made his decision, and was waiting for hers.

"Tell me it won't change anything at work", she had asked.

"It doesn't have to. We're friends first and foremost, and I don't ever want to lose you, Gill."

"Good. I wouldn't want that either."

"So, does that mean I can kiss you, now?

"Cal, if you _don't_ kiss me now, I might change my mind."

He hadn't wasted a second after that.

They had ended up making out on the couch for most of the night. They attempted to watch a movie, but after only a few minutes, they just stopped paying attention to it, and it continued without them. They didn't look at the time, they didn't try to turn it into something else, something more. Neither of them was willing to take it to the next step just yet, feeling content for what they had now.

Around four, they had finally given in to sleep, and spent the night right there on the couch.

One look in that direction told her that Cal was still out cold, and would probably stay that way for the next hour or so. She had to smile at the sight; it was a rarity to see him so at peace. He had often fallen asleep at the office, especially in the week after Zoe left him, but she could see that he had never been really relaxed. Today was different, though, and she was glad that when he was home, he was able to rest completely.

She wondered what would happen today between them; it had been years since she had made out with a boyfriend like she did with Cal. It had felt good, to not rush in, even though they both knew where that would lead. She wouldn't mind it if today was a repeat performance of the previous evening, nor would she mind them taking it to the next level. At least, Emily wouldn't be there for the day, and they would have all the time they needed to be together.

She guessed she should thank Emily for leaving them alone, even though she lied to them about her plans. She was pretty sure that those few minutes the teenager had left her alone the previous afternoon had been spent on the phone, setting everything up to give them some time alone. Emily had even hinted quite a few times, including when she was still married to Alec, that they were better when they were together, but she hadn't wanted to listen to her at the time. All this was proof that she approved of them being together, that whatever happened, she supported it fully, and for that she was grateful. The last thing she wanted was to hurt Emily in any way, and if pursuing a relationship with Cal had done just that, she would have stopped everything then and there.

As she caught sight of her reflection in the window, she noticed the wide smile that stretched her lips. She wouldn't be able to wipe it off any time soon, but she didn't need to, at least until Monday morning. If she were to still smile like this when she had to go back to work, her co-workers would know something was up. And if Cal were to smile too, they would definitely know what was going on. She was pretty sure that even if they tried to hide it, it would soon be out in the open; that was the price they had to pay to work in their field.

She looked one last time towards the couch, where Cal was still deep asleep, and set on making breakfast, coffee first; it would be needed, given the night they had spent. She tried making as little noise as possible, not wanting to wake him until everything was ready.

This wasn't how she had hoped the day would go. She had hoped for a lazy day with her friends, and staying as far away as possible from her father, until the day was over.

But with Hannah's parents arguing late into the night, and then again first thing in the morning, the only thing the three girls wanted was to get away from it as fast as possible. And with Haley's parents gone for the weekend and with her brother having his friends over, they had no other choice but to go to Emily's.

"You're sure your father wouldn't mind?" Hannah asked, feeling bad about what happened with her parents.

"He'd prefer having us with him, even if it disrupted any plans he might have, than at Haley's, believe me."

"Shouldn't you call him to warn him we're coming?" Haley, who was driving, asked.

"It's early. He's probably still asleep."

She also had another reason for not calling him ahead. If she did call him, she would give him time to prepare for their arrival, and would probably ask questions she didn't want to answer just now.

But if they caught him by surprise, she might be safe until her friends left at the end of the day. 'Might' being the key word; with her father, she never knew.

"I'm really sorry about what happened," Hannah said for the umpteenth time since they got in the car.

"Stop worrying about it. We'll still have our lazy day, but it'll just happen at my place, instead of yours."

"How long do you think it will take your parents to notice we're gone, and the note you left them?" Haley asked, quite curious.

"I don't know. It'll depend on how long this argument will last, I guess." She paused, thinking over her next words. "You know, I probably shouldn't think that, but I really believe it would be better if they get a divorce."

"I can understand that. I remember the weeks before my parents divorced. And even though my Dad went through Hell during the first few weeks, it was for the best. I understood that, even though I was young at the time."

"Yeah. Emily's right. And you just want your parents to be happy, and you don't think they're happy together anymore."

"Maybe. But I couldn't exactly go to them and say all this. They wouldn't understand."

"Probably not. But maybe you could suggest going to a therapist. I know some people don't like that, but it might be the best solution for them."

Silence fell for a few seconds, as Hannah considered Emily's advice. She couldn't say that she didn't think about that before, but she wasn't sure how her parents would react to it. But she guessed there was only one way for her to find out.

"By the way, I completely forgot to ask you yesterday night," Haley said, wanting to change the mood. "What did Tommy want when he called you the other night?"

"What?" Emily shrieked. "He called you, and you didn't tell me?" she said, slapping Haley on the arm.

"Hey, mind the driver, here. And I only know because I happened to be on the phone with Hannah when he called. Oh, you're blushing," she said as she looked briefly in the rearview mirror. "This must be good. Spill!"

"He asked me out. He wanted us to go see a movie yesterday evening, but since I already had plans with you, and then Emily too..."

"We would have totally understood. And I would have found another way to give Dad and Gillian some space."

"Oh well. We just postponed it to next Friday evening. What's one more week?"

Haley was about to reply that she had waited long enough for this to happen, but Emily's cry interrupted her before she could even open her mouth.

"Oh my God!"

"What is it, Emily?" Hannah asked, surprised by her friend's outburst.

"Gillian's car is still parked in front of our house."

"Maybe she came for breakfast," Haley reasoned. "You told us that happened every other Sunday."

"No way. That's just not possible. She's parked exactly where she was when we arrived yesterday evening. Her car hasn't moved all night."

"Or maybe she parked in the exact same place..." Hannah tried.

"Yeah, right. Like that's even possible."

"Hey, don't blame me. I just don't want you to get your hopes up."

"I know, I know. But believe me, her car hasn't move one inch since yesterday."

"Then, your plan worked. Should we call before entering? I wouldn't want to stumble upon anything we shouldn't see," Haley said, shuddering at the thought.

"Now more than before, I don't want to call. They'll try to hide the evidence that something happened if we do that."

"So what do we do?" Haley asked, though she was already sure of what Emily's answer would be.

"We get our bags from the trunk and we go inside."

With that said, she opened the passenger's door and got out of the car.

She was now pretty sure she wouldn't have to face her father's questioning for the moment; he would be too focused on trying to explain Gillian's presence in their house at this early hour. And they wouldn't even be able to deny anything if she caught them in the act.

Well, maybe not in the act, because while she might like the idea of them together, she didn't want to know everything. No, kissing would do just fine.

When she felt two arms wrap around her waist, the smile she had had on her lips since she woke up widened. A pair of lips deposited a kiss on the side of her neck, and she couldn't help but moan at the contact.

"I'll have to remember that," he whispered in her ear.

She put the spatula down, and turned off the stove before turning in his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck, trailing her fingers at the base of his nape, something he loved, as she had learned the night before.

"Good morning," she whispered, before kissing his lips softly.

"Good morning to you too, love."

"Did I wake you?"

"Nah! I smelled the coffee and my body said that it was time to get up," he replied, shrugging. "Did you sleep well? My couch isn't the most comfortable…"

"It was more than ok," she interrupted him before he could go any further. "I had good company, and I did sleep well. My body is just used to waking up early. What about you?"

"My body likes having yours close," he said, bringing them impossibly closer.

"Cal…"

Before she could say anything else, his lips were already on hers. His tongue begged entrance, and she obliged, opening her mouth beneath his. The kiss deepened, making Gillian think that it would probably lead to another make out session if she didn't stop him quickly.

But the thing was that she didn't want to stop him. Breakfast could wait, she decided when one of his hands cupped a breast. She moaned at the sensation, raking her nails against his scalp.

They were so focused on each other that they didn't hear the door open. They also didn't hear the three girls entering the room, and stopping on the threshold. They couldn't see them gaping at them.

"Are we interrupting?"

Emily's voice brought them back to the present time.

Surprised, Gillian pushed Cal away from her. His back hit the counter, and she winced at the same time he did.

She could already feel her face grow hot as she turned to face Emily and her friends; she even felt like a teenager whose parents surprised with her boyfriend. And this was what happened in some way. The roles had just been reversed.

"What are you girls doing here?" Cal asked, having recovered more quickly than her.

"That's actually my fault…"

"No, it wasn't…"

"No, really, Emily, it…"

"You can't…"

"Ok, hold on a second, you three," Cal said, as all three girls started to talk at once. "You," he pointed a finger towards Emily, "explain."

"Well, we were at Hannah's, as planned, but her parents argued all evening yesterday, and they were back at it this morning as soon as they got up. So we decided to get away. And since Haley's parents weren't there, and her brother is having his friends over…

"We thought it would be better for us to come here," Haley concluded. "That is, if you don't mind us being here."

"We're not interrupting anything, I hope?" Emily asked with a wide smile.

"Not at all," Gillian answered, though she knew they wouldn't believe her for one second. "Did you have breakfast, yet?"

"No. Our decision to leave my house was made quite spontaneously. We didn't even take time to change out of our pyjamas, as you can see."

"Great, then. Why don't you go get ready for the day, while I make breakfast for all of us. Cal, set the table, would you? Please."

"And don't worry, Dad, we'll talk about all this later," Emily added, before leading the way out of the room.

Cal watched them leave, wondering if he should go after his daughter, and ask when she decided to start playing matchmaker for him and Gillian. Not that it didn't work; it did work, but it hadn't been her business in the first place.

"Cal, why don't you leave her alone?" Gillian said, as she followed his look.

"She has some explaining to do. I don't want her to think she will get out of it because her friends are here. And she needs to know that she has to mind her own business."

"She did nothing wrong. She just asked the right questions. Can you really blame her for that, knowing where it led us? She just wanted to help, you know that."

"I didn't need her help, love. I was doing just fine on my own." At Gillian's raised eyebrow, he had to add. "I kissed you the other night, or do I need to remind you?"

"Oh, I think I remember that," she replied with a smile. "But how long would it have taken us to be there if it weren't for Emily asking questions and giving us some time alone. You and I both know I certainly wouldn't be here this morning because we'd still be wondering what the kiss could mean."

"Well, I know what it meant, what I wanted it to mean."

"Cal..."

"Ok, ok. Maybe I can give her some credit. But that doesn't mean you're allowed to do something like that again," he said in the direction of the stairs, knowing that Emily had been listening to see if they were mad at her. "And stop spying!"

"Got it!" she answered.

He heard her footsteps going towards her room, and when he was sure that the door closed behind her, he turned back to Gillian.

"I wonder when she got that from. Must be her Mum."

"Yeah, must be," Gillian replied with a roll of her eyes. "She couldn't possibly have got this from you. Now that we agreed on all that, could you set the table, please? Breakfast is almost ready."

"Yes, Ma'am."

She almost expected a mock salute from him, but he just leaned and pecked her lips. She smiled as she turned back towards the stove.

"You know, I was thinking that maybe we could leave the house to the girls, today, and go somewhere."

"Your place?" he suggested.

"I was thinking somewhere _outside_. We could go to Rock Creek Park."

"Or, we could go to your place, settle in front of the fireplace, and not move one inch." At her look, he added. "It's too cold outside, and they said it might snow in the afternoon."

"Then maybe we should stay here, and not risk you getting snowed in at my place."

"I'd rather be snowed in at your place, than here with three teenagers. And actually, I might like it _a lot_," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"So you wouldn't mind leaving them _alone_ here all night?" she asked, and she noticed the exact moment he realised what that meant.

"Then again, my fireplace is pretty good, too. We should probably test it."

"That's what I thought. You don't trust them with your house all day and night long."

"It's not that I don't trust them, but you know… Three girls, alone, who knows what could happen," he said, as he dropped a kiss in her hair.

"Yeah… Girls! Breakfast is ready."

"We're coming," they heard Emily's voice reply.

She felt two arms wrap around her waist from behind, and she turned around to face him. She rested her hands against his chest, and looked at his face. His mask was down, he was letting her in.

They shared a chaste kiss, before hearing the girls' footsteps coming down the stairs. They separated just as Emily was reaching the last step.

"You need some help?" the teenager asked her.

"No, I've got it."

"Just for the record, I'm happy for you two."

Gillian paused for a moment, and contemplated Emily's words. Even though she had known for a long time that the teenager was supportive of her and Cal, it pleased her to hear those words now that they were together. It proved to her that nothing would change.

"Something wrong, darling?" Cal's voice jolted her out of his thoughts.

"No, everything's fine. Very fine."

Fin.


End file.
